(Help) I want a new CPU and motherboard

Hi again Sonic Retro. After reviewing what PC I have, I now want to build a better PC.

What I'm looking for right now is a new MoBo and a CPU, and I'm a noob in that department.

My goal is improve video playback, recording, capturing, production, and rendering. I also want a faster, more efficient computer overall. From what I understand, for that I need to replace the MoBo and CPU. With a newer, more recent MoBo I can also finally install that XFX Radeon HD 5670 PCI Express 1GB GDDR5 Graphics Card I bought in the summer. I also have replaced the PSU with a Corsair CX500.

If I'm searching for a CPU and a MoBo, what do I look for to tell that it's better than what I have (if that makes any sense)? Where do I start?

Comparison (I selected the AMD Athlon II X2 265 instead of 260 because I couldn't select the 260, the 260 is a little bit slower than the 265). Difference: About the same in single threaded programs, the X3 wins in multithreaded programs (because it has an extra core). Recording, capturing etc. usually is multithreaded, so you'll benefit from having the X3.

Comparison. Difference: The Phenom II X6 beats the X4 in pretty much everything. They are about as good in singlethreaded applications (despite the fact the X4 is clocked at 3.2GHz and the X6 at 3.0GHz), the X6 (obviously) beats it in multithreaded applications.

Comparison. The i5 is the first Intel CPU I'm recommending (and it's the most expensive one, it goes a little over your budget), mainly because intel is just more expensive. I'm recommending it however since (IMO) it's a great CPU. In the comparison I included the i5 2400 instead of the i5 2300 because I couldn't select the i5 2300, so the i5 2300's slightly slower than the one shown in the comparison (not much though). In single threaded applications the i5 2300 (2400 in this case) beats the Phenom II X6 by far, multithreaded it usually beats the X6 (despite the fact the i5 2400's clocked lower (2.8GHz instead of 3.0GHz) and has less cores (4 instead of 6) it usually beats the X6 in multithreaded applications, sometimes it loses though, see comparison).

Those low-price bundles like CH listed them always have a catch, in this case the chipset is old and very unperformant.

My suggestion is to get the dual core Phenom you listed, and a good ASUS or Gigabyte motherboard with an AMD 870 or 880 chipset. Or take the bundle you listed, because while BIOSTAR does not make the best quality boards, they are okay and the one you listed even has an 870 chipset. That way you get a pretty nice and OCable CPU with the chance to unlock it to X4.

Those bundles always have a catch, in this case the chipset is old and very unperformant.

My suggestion is to get the dual core Phenom you listed, and a good ASUS or Gigabyte motherboard with an AMD 870 or 880 chipset. Or take the bundle you listed, because while BIOSTAR does not make the best quality boards, they are okay and the one you listed even has an 870 chipset. That way you get a pretty nice and OCable CPU with the chance to unlock it to X4.

In all seriousness though, if you run for "Bang for Buck", the Phenom II X2 combo you listed above is the way to go. X2 555 is a Deneb core with 1 or 2 either defective (unlikely) or unlockable (more likely) cores. The 555 has a high success rate of unlocking to a quadcore.

Since the X2 555 BE is already a pretty beefy CPU, I'd go with that. If you get an X4 out of it then... hey, you have a better deal than the X4 could have ever gotten oyu.

I think you shouldn't cheap out on the case. I've done it many times before myself, and I usually end up buying a new case again soon - they wear out fast. Cable management is slim to none in those cheap-o cases too :P

You may want to consider getting a 64-bit OS. 32-bit is really going to limit you. On a 32-bit OS you can never have more than 4GB of RAM. I know, you may think >4GB is overkill, but games these days are using more and more and it would be a good future proofing move.

I run a gaming system with 8GB, and the ability to keep oodles of programs open at the same time and never have to shut them down to run a game (so long as they don't eat GPU/CPU) is pretty sweet.